Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns everything in the Twiverse.

A/N: Lawd, have mercy! I cannot believe I haven't updated SP since October. Please pardon the delay… I am severely chagrined, believe me!

Thank you to everyone who has checked on me and asked about my Hubby. His headaches are ever-present, but your prayers and well-wishes truly warm our hearts. THANK YOU doesn't really cover it.

In other news, I have FINALLY finished editing my OF! MILLE GRAZIE to my wc girls who carried me through—jmolly, nuttyginger, twilly, and my favorite Ghostwriter. You gals ROCK! I still have the synopsis to work out (which is a bear in and of itself), but my schedule should allow for more frequent updates of my FFs.

So to recap the action…

From the end of Chapter 43:

Carlisle bowed once more and indicated that we should turn and follow him as Kejara started toward the rear exit.

"Just a moment," Aro called out, causing us to stop. "I almost forgot."

Aro walked behind the still praying Laurent, placed his hands on either side of his face, and twisted his head clean off his neck. I gasped as his lifeless body hit the floor, but my shock quadrupled when Aro tossed Laurent's head to Tanya. She caught it by the hair on instinct, holding it away from her body as she gaped at Aro.

"A souvenir," Aro shrugged. "I figured you would prefer it to a keychain."

Chapter 44: Pyres and Promises

Bella's POV

A belated gasp escaped my lips as my brain caught up to what my eyes were seeing.

"Did he just…"

"Yes." I could hear the edge beneath Edward's incredulity. "He did."

"Is he… dead?"

"His body is useless without the head attached," Edward said tightly. "But only two things kill us for sure."

Nodding and moving that much closer to Edward, I forced my eyes away from the sight before me.

Laurent's head dangling from Tanya's outstretched hand.

Laurent's eyes bugging out of their sockets in frozen shock.

I buried my face in Edward's neck, willing myself to calm down. I knew he could hear and feel my racing heart, and I did not want to give him reason to worry about me. We were almost done. We were about to get on that plane and go home. And I was not going to have a panic attack in the middle of the end.

I refused.

"Aro, really," Marcus sighed. "Let us not slip into the macabre."

Though I couldn't see him, Aro sounded abashed at his brother's rebuke. "The gesture was kindly meant, cara."

"I appreciate the thought," Tanya replied with a hint of derision. "But I have no need of this."

"I would rather see it smoldering on a flaming pyre with the rest of him," Kate added with clenched teeth.

"That could be arranged." Caius said with too much enthusiasm, and my stomach lurched again. They seemed determined to bring my lunch back to the surface.

"Yes." Aro paused, and I felt his attention shift. "But I doubt their newest cousin would be interested in such a display."

Edward nudged me, and I raised my head. The Volturi and Denali sisters were watching me. "Sorry?"

Kate stepped forward, blocking my view of Tanya and her little friend. "You have had a long few days," she said. "We wouldn't want to overburden you with something so unpleasant."

As I read between her lines, Edward's fingers caressed the back of my hand.

"You don't have to do this," they seemed to say.

"I know," I squeezed back. "But I need to."

"I appreciate your concern," I said aloud. "But we came to see this all the way through, and Laurent's death is the last step."

Appreciation lightened Tanya's eyes, and I knew I'd made the right decision.

Caius seemed to watch me with something akin to respect as Marcus nodded once. "It is decided."

"Very well," Aro said with two short claps of his hands. "Felix?"

The summoned vampire blurred into the room and rescued Laurent's head from Tanya's hand. Her fingers remained open until Alice slipped what I assumed was an antibacterial wipe in it. Their skin was impervious to germs, but Tanya mouthed her thanks at my sister's kindness.

Felix and another cloaked member of the guard piled Laurent's body in the center of the room. I backed into Edward, pressing myself flush against his body as he led us backwards.

"So brave," he murmured in my ear. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"I see your bias made the trip to Volterra," I whispered back. "Our clans are strongest together, and that is how we shall stand."

His lips made their way to my temple, murmuring his affection into my skin. I relaxed against the pleasant chill and closed my eyes.

There was a mechanical groan from above, and I caught the fresh scent of a crisp Italian breeze. Edward wrapped his arms around me and adjusted my scarf as the influx of air from the windows dropped the room temperature to an uncomfortable low.

"Would you like to do the honors?"

Aro's voice got my attention as he addressed Tanya and Kate. Caius and Marcus stood on either side of Aro, and Felix and friend were nowhere in sight.

The Denali sisters looked at each other then at Eleazar and Carmen. Eleazar gave a brief nod, and Kate and Tanya joined hands. They walked to where Aro stood behind the pile made by Laurent's head and body. I had expected them to further break his bones and was relieved to be wrong about that. The sounds of James' death were permanently lost to my unconscious mind, and I did not need those of his partner's to replace them.

Aro raised his hands, and the sisters bowed as he rested them a few inches above their heads.

"Do you accept Laurent's death as retribution for your sister's death?"

They nodded together, unaware of his earlier comments on the subject. "We do."

"Do you willingly participate in the administration of his punishment?"

"We do."

"And do you swear on your sister's life that this action will signal the end of your vengeful quest?"

Both sisters paused, as if willing their hearts to agree. "We do."

"As you have said," Aro nodded. "Let it be so."

The words were an apt malediction as Caius handed them sleek, silver lighters. The Volturi stepped back as Kate and Tanya moved toward Laurent's body, and Edward's arm further tightened around my waist. Beside me, the three remaining couples assumed similar positions, and I spared another thought for Rosalie and Emmett. Their selflessness was keeping Charlie while allowing us to be here, and I hoped to someday repay them for it.

The lighters flicked to life in unison, and Kate and Tanya stepped forward. Their faces were tight with emotion, their voices barely audible as they murmured in Slavic sorrow. I didn't need a translator to know they were speaking of loss, anger, and the things they would never get to say to their sister. My eyes watered afresh at their suffering, and I found myself joining them in prayer.

"For Irina," Kate said finally.

"For Irina," Tanya repeated.

As I dabbed at my eyes, they tossed the lighters onto Laurent's body.

The flames danced across the dark fabric of his cloak, licking their way toward his face. Upon contact with his skin, the fire exploded into a rolling ball of furious orange and red. At the first sign of his facial disintegration, I pulled my gaze upward and focused on the flames. There was no need to force myself into enjoying Laurent's demise. I was here, bearing witness, and that was enough.

As the curling black smoke rose toward the ceiling, a potent aroma filled the air, singeing my nostrils with its disturbing sweetness. I covered my nose on instinct, but the sunny citrus of Alice's lotion had long since faded from my skin. Sensing my distress, Edward's hands slipped beneath mine, his delicious natural scent calming me instantly.

Through the haze of the fire, I watched as my Kate and Tanya's impassiveness crumbled into sorrow. Carlisle and Eleazar sped to their sides to provide what comfort they could as their wives looked on in sympathy. Alice was somber beside me, and I could feel Jasper's effort to mitigate our cousins' suffering.

At length, the smoke evaporated and the fire disappeared. And though the syrupy scent lingered, there was nothing left of Laurent but a smoldering pile of black dust. Kate and Tanya shrugged out of Carlisle and Eleazar's embraces and squared their shoulders. Swiping the dust from their faces with the tips of two fingers, they cleared their throats and spit on Laurent's ashes.

"Let's go," Kate said.

I started to ask if we needed the Volturi's permission when I noticed they were gone. In their place was Kejara, her serene expression suggesting that a pile of vampiric ash was nothing she hadn't seen before.

"Right this way, please," she smiled.

As I exited the chamber, I wondered how the Volturi managed to quit the room without my notice. My family seemed unfazed by their disappearance, but their stealthy exit made me incredibly uncomfortable.

"Are you all right?" Edward whispered as we walked.

"Fine." I couldn't allow my fears to be heard. "I just want to get back to Forks."

He chuckled, the sound not as light as he'd intended. "Did you ever think you'd say that a year ago?"

"Not in a million years."

The return trip was short, and before I knew it, we had reached the lobby, the blessed Cullen plane but a few steps away.

"I do hope you enjoyed your visit to Volterra," Kejara said. "And will come again soon."

"Yes, Kejara, thank you," Carlisle bowed. "Please extend our compliments to Aro."

Kejara beamed as if Carlisle had given her a million dollars. "Thank you, sir. Have a safe journey home."

Carlisle nodded once more and led the way back to the plane. I thought it was odd that Edward let us be the last couple to board but didn't protest. He closed the door behind us and made the immediate right toward the sleeping chamber in the back.

I slipped out of my jacket, tossing my scarf onto the nearby chair. I rubbed my arms on instinct, chilly despite the warmth of the cabin, and sighed. Edward pressed a button on the nightstand, and a blue light flashed near the speakers overhead. The house stereo I presumed.

"Refresh yourself," he whispered as he toed out of his shoes, "and we'll take off when you're done."

I was uncomfortable with the idea of making them wait for me. But as I poked my head around the dividing curtain, I saw Tanya and Kate falling apart in Carmen and Esme's arms, the rest of our family surrounding them.

It seemed I wasn't the only one who needed a human moment.

In the bathroom, I was surprised by the absence of my monthly visitor. It usually lasted for four strong days, but on day two, it seemed to have vanished. Perhaps the Volterran air was wreaking some sort of havoc on my system. I washed my hands and decided to be grateful for the reprieve, however long it might last.

"Your phone buzzed," Edward said as I entered the bedroom. "It's still in your coat pocket."

"Thanks." I fished it out and was surprised by Alice's message: I don't know what happened, but your little friend is gone already. Maybe it was a stress-induced false alarm?

I didn't want to know how she knew that. I didn't want to know if her hypothesis was right. With all that happened to me lately, a one-day menstrual period would be the least shocking of all.

"Is everything all right?" Edward asked from where he sat on the edge of the bed.

"It will be." I closed the phone and laid it on the nightstand. "As soon I'm with you."

"Then come to bed."

I kicked off my boots and assumed my favorite position. Laying my head on his chest, I felt the blanket envelop me and his arms lock around it. We were hundreds of miles from Forks, but for all intents and purposes, I was home.

Edward didn't speak as he held me. He barely moved at all, which was unusual. His hands didn't stroke my arm. His fingers didn't caress my cheek or lips make their way to my temple. He just held me. And as I snuggled closer to his chest, the events of the past three days flooded my mind in snapshots:

Charlie.

Tanya.

Victoria.

Edward.

Charlie again.

Edward again.

Laurent.

The Volturi.

Charlie again.

Laurent again.

Edward again.

By the time my beloved's face graced my mind for the third time, I was shaking uncontrollably, the overflow of my emotions finally breeching the dam. My tears soaked his clothes, and my cries would have pierced normal ears, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I pressed myself as close to him as humanly possible, needing to feel him everywhere I hurt.

"I'm here, Love," he murmured again and again. "We're together. We're safe."

I heard his words, understood them with my mind. But as another wave of tears crashed over me, I knew it would be a good long time before I could believe them in my heart.

—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—

"What time is it?" I asked when at last my sobbing subsided.

I felt his lips against my hair. "Nearly noon."

"That early?" It seemed we'd been in the Volturi's castle for days.

"We should be back in Forks by nightfall."

The thought of seeing my father again regardless of his state of consciousness brought the first genuine smile to my face in hours.

"Are you hungry?" Edward's lips made their way to my cheek. "I could get you something."

My nerves had calmed, but the idea of eating anything made my stomach turn. "Maybe later. Can we debrief with the family?"

"I'll see." Cradling me to his chest, Edward scooted toward the nightstand and turned off the stereo. "Is now a good time to meet, Carlisle?" he asked at normal voice.

"Perfect timing," Carlisle said loudly enough for me to hear. "We were preparing to ask if you were ready."

Edward glanced at me again, and I slipped to the bed's edge to put on my shoes. "We'll be out shortly," he said.

Although I knew my meltdown had overpowered the stereo system, I felt no shame as I left the private chamber. The ten of us had endured the horrors of Volterra together. We now were comrades, survivors, equals.

As I wasn't eating, I tucked myself into a corner of the empty loveseat. Edward joined me immediately, and Esme soon placed a mug in my hands. I smiled as she kissed my forehead and took a grateful sip of the warm, fragrant tea. Somehow she always knew what to do.

Alice patted my knee from her seat in the adjacent sofa, and Jasper smiled at me from her other side. Kate and Tanya were across from me with a cashmere duvet covering their socked feet. Carlisle and Eleazar preferred the captain's chairs, so their wives sat together on the remaining sofa.

"Are you okay?" Tanya asked me.

She was sympathetic not judgmental, and I marveled that I'd ever thought ill of her. "Much better, thank you." I glanced between her and her sister. "How are you?"

"Things will never be the same without Irina," Tanya said as Kate nodded. "But we are satisfied that justice was served."

"Is that what that was?" Eleazar asked.

Carlisle looked at him. "Not now."

"Why not?" Eleazar asked. "We did what you said. We went to Volterra with the best of intentions, minded every p and q, and what did he do? He robbed us of our senses, shocked your wife, and forced Kate to punish her sister for no damn reason!"

I'd never heard Eleazar so angry before, and the sheer volume of his outburst should have scared me. But we had each suffered at the Volturi's hands and were entitled to react however we chose. Carlisle seemed to know that and prepared to give Eleazar the needed opposition to find his sense of sense of closure.

"But in the end, justice was served," Carlisle was saying.

"You are saying you were okay with Aro using your wife to coerce your cooperation? You have no qualms with the use of Jane's power on her sweet skin?" He laughed without humor. "I heard your outburst in The Throne Room, old friend. You were not so accepting at the time of the infraction."

"I was frightened for Esme, yes." His ancient eyes looked at his bride with such tenderness I thought I might cry. "But I knew Aro would never hurt her."

"How could you have been sure?" Kate asked. "After that stunt you pulled, I honestly feared for Esme's life."

"That was a risky move, Bwana. You could have cooked us all."

"Bwana?" Carlisle smiled at Jasper's moniker. "That's a new one."

"An international tag for an international incident," Jasper said. "But if I may go back to it, why were you so calm during that exchange?"

"It is common knowledge that Aro likes to be right," Carlisle said. "But as he also loves to be contrary, he will oppose himself if his madness is taken for logic. The only way to save us from being separated was to concede that it was the best idea."

"His is a twisted mind," Kate snorted.

"Yes, but that was not my question," Eleazar said. "How could you not be worried for your bride?"

"I understand your anger, friend." Carlisle clapped Eleazar on the shoulder. "And believe me, if I thought for a moment that Esme was in danger, no vampire on earth would have prevented me from breaking Aro's legs and flogging him with them."

"And then setting them on fire," Esme winked.

"But how can smile about that?" I surprised myself with the question. "The thought of Aro unleashing Jane on Edward makes my fingers itch with the urge to claw her red eyes out. And I saw you, too, when Esme hit the ground. You were poised to kill."

Carlisle nodded. "I was."

I set my empty mug on the floor. "So is it hindsight convincing you that Aro wouldn't hurt her?"

"My reaction was purely instinctive: the need to protect my mate," Carlisle replied. "But I know Aro better than he gives me credit for. What he did to Esme was a warning to Edward."

Edward took my hands. "I'm afraid he's right, love."

The logic made my head ache. "I don't understand."

"Aro didn't need Jasper's gift to know my emotions were the most volatile," my beloved explained. "Marcus briefed him on the strength of our bond, that it eclipsed that between me and our family even."

"But isn't that normal with mated pairs?"

"Yes," Jasper said. "But mated pairs never consist of one vampire and one human."

"Aro was shocked by our attachment," Edward continued. "But he would have dismissed your love for me as a superficial fancy despite Marcus' assessment. Your loyalty to the rest of the family, however, surprised him. He realized that you loved our entire coven and reasoned that the surest way to induce your cooperation, and mine by extension, was to attack Esme."

"Don't worry yourself now," Esme said as my mouth moved to apologize to her. "I would suffer that and more if it meant protecting you."

I stared at her in disbelief. "I'm sorry, but I have to be honest. As much as I love all of you, I would not stand by and watch Edward die to save any one of you. So how can you say that?"

"I'm a mother," Esme said. "And I would sacrifice anyone to protect my children."

"Even Carlisle?"

"Even me," Carlisle said with another warm glance at Esme. "And I would do the same."

"Of course, we would never want it to come to that," she said somberly. "But when we decided to have a family, we knew there was no other way. I couldn't live with the knowledge that Carlisle let one of you die to save me, and neither could he."

"So we made a covenant," Carlisle continued. "And we renew it each year on our anniversary along with every other promise that sustains us."

I was stunned into silence. I knew Carlisle and Esme loved us, that their love was selfless and pure. But this revelation was well beyond that, beyond anything I could hope to articulate. This kind of love was divine, a holy, sacred thing.

I glanced at Alice and noted the trembling of her lower lip and felt a surge of reverential gratitude as Jasper's emotions flooded the cabin. But it was the loosening of Edward's arm from my waist that got my attention. He slipped his hand into mine as he leaned toward Carlisle and Esme.

"Thank you, Mom and Dad. From all of us."

It was the first time I'd ever heard him address them as such, and Esme's soft gasp confirmed the rarity of the event. Her eyes locked with Carlisle's, and she shook her head, unable to speak. "The pleasure is truly ours, son," he said. "It was always my desire to see you safe and happy, and Esme and I would give anything to keep you that way. Even our own lives."

His words were meant for all six of his children—the three he changed, the two he adopted, and the one who was still human. But as Edward was his first child, they carried special significance for him.

Too overcome to reply, Edward rejoined me on the sofa, pulling me onto his lap. I nestled myself in my nook, and with his answering sigh, he seemed to release a decades-old burden from his soul. A wave of contentment washed over me, and I relaxed as Jasper's emotions overtook us once more. The cabin fell into a peaceful silence, and I was all too happy to surrender to its serenity.

But as I chanced a glance at Tanya and Kate, my happiness was somewhat sullied. Not only had they lost a sister, but I imagined that our parents' declaration reminded them of the maternal love they would never know again. My heart was saddened once more, making me all the more grateful for the man at my side.

"There is one thing I do not understand," Alice said, breaking the silence. "From the moment we landed in Volterra until now, my vision of us leaving intact and in peace never changed."

"Even when he considered detaining us?" Carmen asked.

"Yes. It was the strangest thing." She looked past me to Edward. "What did you hear from Aro?"

"Everything," he replied. "I didn't feel as if he was blocking his thoughts, yet I had the constant sense that he was hiding something from me."

"His emotions were all over the place," Jasper added. "Surprised, confused, furious, suspicious. But above all else, he was excited."

"I sensed that, too," Edward said. "All his thoughts had an edge of euphoria."

"Of course, he was excited," Kate said. "He's a sick bastard who gets off on the suffering of others." It would take more than a few centuries before she forgave Aro for forcing her gifts onto her sister, and I couldn't say I blamed her.

"Beyond that," Eleazar added, "he had two of his most coveted treasures in his presence, and one of them was married to a human who is immune to most of our gifts. Why wouldn't he be excited?"

"But he let us go," Alice said. "It was as if he never considered breaking us up at all. That doesn't make sense because I know that's his strongest desire."

"Second strongest," Carlisle said. "Maybe third, if we count blood."

"What could Aro want more than Edward and Alice?" I asked.

"You," Edward replied with a heated look. "Acquiring a vampire who has some sort of defensive talent would be a true feather in his cap."

"True," Carlisle said. "But even Bella isn't more important Aro than his chief priority."

"And that would be?" Eleazar asked.

"The chase."

"The chase?" we replied in unison, causing Carlisle to chuckle. "Yes, my dears. The chase is what Aro craves most. More than power, more than gifted vampires, more than blood."

"I don't understand," Alice said.

"Aro has been around for more than three thousand years," Carlisle said. "He has seen everything at least two hundred times and fights daily against the tedium of our existence. And with our familial bonds, strange diet, and powerful gifts, our coven is a perpetual source of both irritation and entertainment for him. Sure, he could invent a reason to destroy us and steal our gifted members, but to what end? He has no real desire to govern the vampire world, and humans are but a food source. What better diversion is there than an on-going battle of wits and wills with a rival group?"

"So we were never in danger?" I asked.

Carlisle shook his head. "The Volturi never liked Laurent. He was asked to leave all those years ago and was likely as good as dead once he stepped inside the city walls. But his report of Edward mating with a human got their attention, and they were interested to meet you. But knowing my respect for the law, Aro correctly assumed we had not divulged our secret to you and Edward's intentions to change you."

"So why all the drama?" I persisted. "Why go through the charade of reading your minds and making people faint if he never intended to keep us?"

"Because Aro likes to be in control," Edward said. "He needed us to know that it was his choice to let us leave, his choice to keep our coven intact."

"That makes no sense," Alice said.

"It makes perfect sense," Jasper said. "What else does Aro have to do but toy with us? He can only drink so much blood, put out so many fires in our world. His best chance of enjoying himself comes in the form of a large vegetarian coven of four mated pairs shepherded by an old friend against whom he holds a minor grudge."

"A grudge?" I asked Carlisle. "For leaving Volterra?"

"For making a better life for myself," Carlisle said. "Aro has power, attendants, and an assortment of enemies throughout our world with whom he can engage whenever he chooses. But the one thing he does not have, the one thing he has effectively denied himself is freedom. The freedom to choose his life and the way he lives it. If Aro ever vacated his throne in Volterra, the derisive talk among our kind would never end."

"And even if his reasons were legitimate," Edward added, "the collective belief would be that he could no longer handle the responsibility. A widespread opinion that he possessed such weakness would drive him to eternal madness."

For the first time ever, I felt sorry for Aro. "I never thought of it like that."

"Don't be too sympathetic," Jasper said, apparently catching my feelings. "Aro built his castle, and now he must rule in it. If he weren't addicted to his own mystique, he could create a different life for himself if he chose without a passing thought for external opinion."

"Do you think we've heard the last from him?" I asked. "Not for the sake of toying with us, but with the whole Charlie thing and my upcoming change?"

"I had an idea about that," Carlisle said. "If you'll pardon the presumption."

"Please," I said. "I'll take all the help I can get."

"Aro will want to know as soon as your change happens," he said. "So we'll stop in Volterra after leaving the island, tell him you wanted to meet his wife. The excuse will allow him to observe you and prevent him from indulging his baser urges."

"What about Charlie?"

"Our greatest ally is Aro's inability to question Charlie without exposing us for what we are."

His tone suggested there was more. "But?"

Carlisle looked away. "If Charlie is found to be a part of your life after your change, it will be more difficult to convince Aro of his ignorance."

And there it was. Confirmation that no matter how much we had all done to save him, I would have to say goodbye to Charlie come June. There was simply no way around it.

"I'm sorry," Carlisle said as Edward stroked the back of my hand with his thumb. "I know how much you love your father."

I cleared my throat, needing a moment. "It's okay. I knew this was coming, and I accept it. Thank you all so much for all you've done to protect me and my father."

"She's still thanking us, Kate," Tanya huffed to her sister. "Maybe I should dropkick her."

"Or I can give her a hug," Kate smirked. "A nice, warm hug."

"All right, all right." With all they'd been through, they wanted me to feel secure in my position in the family, and that was truly touching. "Fine. No thank you."

"You're welcome," they said in unison.

I rolled my eyes at both of them, catching Edward's as I adjusted my position in his arms. I knew what he was thinking, but I didn't want the Denali's attempt at levity to go to waste. "Has anyone heard from Rose and Emmett?"

"I put them on strict orders not to call unless there was a negative emergency," Esme said. "I hope you don't mind."

"No, you're right. Better to deal with home once we get there."

"I think there's more," Edward said suddenly.

"More what?" Eleazar asked.

"More to Aro than what we're seeing." His troubled eyes met mine before leaning forward. "Alice, has our future changed at all?"

Alice unfocused her eyes, and we waited. "Not in any meaningful ways. I don't see Bella's house tomorrow afternoon, but I suspect one of the Pack will be there."

"Charlie's going to miss his fishing date with Billy," I said. "He will definitely be there."

"We'll find a way to deal with that," Jasper said to me. "Don't worry."

"What did you mean, son?" Carlisle asked. "About Aro."

"His openness was a screen," Edward said. "I know he's up to something, something regarding Bella and me. But I don't know what it is."

"Then it's probably best not to worry about it," Esme said. "Trying to predict Aro's actions is like trying to stifle Alice's urge to shop."

"I agree with Esme," Carlisle said as Alice gasped. "Unless you have some specific sense of how Aro might proceed, trying to plan a counterattack would be an exercise in futility."

"And a terrible waste of a honeymoon," Carmen said. "You still have a few days left, no?"

"Sí," Edward said.

"Then you should spend what's left of this time with your bride. We are done here, are we not?"

"I would like to speak with you and Eleazar about our plans," Tanya said. "But the newlyweds are not needed for that discussion."

"And I have some tactical questions about the guard," Jasper said. "But that's my military curiosity taking over."

"Then it's settled." Carmen nodded to Edward and me. "You may go now. Climb on that bed and enjoy each other. And don't worry about the noise. It's nothing we haven't heard—or done—before."

I blushed to my roots as Edward rose from the loveseat, pulling me up as he did so. "Thanks, I think."

Carmen and Esme laughed while Alice shook her head. "That accent lets you say whatever you want. Bella would never let me get away with something like that."

"That's true," Edward and I said, as we headed toward the back of the plane.

"I can teach you if you want, cara," Carmen said. "Let me hear you roll your r's."

As Edward ushered me through the curtain, I heard the thwack of Alice's hand on the back of Jasper's head. "What was that for?"

Edward chuckled. "I am too much of a gentleman to repeat Major Whitlock's words."

"But not too much of a gentleman to laugh, I see."

"What can I say?" Edward was back on the bed before I'd taken off one shoe. "I am a work-in-progress."

I joined him atop the mattress, sighing as he curled himself around me. His arm lay across my waist as his fingers reached beyond me to click on the house stereo again. He entwined our fingers and kissed the back of my neck.

"I know what my father said," he whispered. "And I know his words were kindly meant. But I promised you that Charlie would stay in your life, and I will never break a promise to you again."

I squeezed his fingers, touched by his stubbornness. "I love you for wanting to keep your word with me, but he's right. If I try to keep Charlie in my life beyond my change, he could die."

"Living without your father while he's alive would kill you, Bella," Edward gently insisted. "Please do not pretend otherwise for my sake."

I clamped my mouth shut, biting down on my bottom lip. "I made promises to you, too, Edward. And I will not go back on them, not even for my dad."

Edward turned me in his arms until our faces were a sweet breath apart. He lifted my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes. His golden gaze was somehow tender and ferocious, and I was powerless to look away. "You will not lose Charlie," he said. "You have my word."

I nodded, unable to ignore his brazen determination to please me. A single tear slid down the side of my face, and Edward kissed it away before bringing his lips to mine. The soft seal of his promise eased the ache in my soul, and though logic warned me to agree with my father-in-law, love told me to believe in my husband.

And somehow I knew that love wouldn't steer me wrong.

I'd planned to get them home in this chapter, but they had other ideas. I'm sorry for the wait, but I hope you think it was worth it. Leave me some love and let me know you're still there.

There is definitely one more proper chapter left… and after that, I'm not sure. There are still a few more things I want to add/settle, but I don't know how. Shorter chapters? A series of epilogues? I don't know yet, but we're coming in for a landing…

SORT OF… hehehehehe…

Until next time, dear friends!

xoxo